CE Conversations: Let’s Learn How to Rent Equipment During the COVID-19 Pandemic with ARA
Here comes another chapter in our Compact Equipment Conversations video series. With our Digital Rental Guide launching this week, publisher Keith Gribbins took the opportunity to talk about renting construction equipment with COVID-19 looming. He’d definitely be hard pressed to find two better guests to discuss this subject. In this episode, he has a digital sit-down with Beth Hoff Blackmer, American Rental Association president and president of Aspen Rent-All, and Steve Mau, Shared Interest Group Chair — Construction/Industrial with ARA and owner of Brainerd General Rental.
The American Rental Association represents more than 11,000 rental businesses and more than 1,000 manufacturers and suppliers located in every U.S. state and every Canadian province. That includes great members like Aspen Rent-All, a second-generation family-owned rental business in Basalt, Colo., and Brainerd General Rental, a family owned business servicing Baxter, Minn., and beyond.
ARA is one of the rental industry’s best resources and biggest voices. The association offers tons of support — training, certifications, insurance, risk management services, government lobbying, industry data, scholarships and lots more. Now with the threat of coronavirus, ARA is focusing on helping its members provide safe and clean business centers for its employees and its renters. ARA’s “Clean. Safe. Essential.” program is designed to help ARA members continue to ensure a safe rental experience through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Over the last few weeks, the association has released a Healthy Work Practices Guide for construction equipment rental companies and a ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ training certificate program for members.
In the video above, Blackmer and Mau share their insights into such programs and how both renters and rental houses can stay safe and productive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ARA Healthy Work Practices Guide
The American Rental Association recently released the ARA Healthy Work Practices Guide for construction equipment rental companies — part of a new “Clean. Safe. Essential.” program designed to help ARA members continue to ensure a safe rental experience through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
The ARA Healthy Work Practices Guide provides member stores with consistent, practical guidance on measures to minimize exposure to the coronavirus for customers, staff, vendors and guests. Based on expertise from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), rental operators and equipment manufacturers, the guide adds to ARA’s ongoing safety efforts.
“Our industry has always been committed to safety — providing contractor partners with safe equipment and the training to use it properly is what ARA members do,” said Tony Conant, ARA CEO. “But 2020 is redefining the word ‘safe.’ ARA is putting tremendous resources and energy into helping rental stores — which are essential to customer success — continue to provide a safe equipment rental experience in our new normal.”
The ARA Healthy Work Practices Guide offers general information on: microbes and viruses; personal protective equipment (PPE) considerations; cleaning supplies and equipment needed for social distancing; how to prepare a facility, vehicles and employees for work; testing employees; cleaning equipment and more.
While the Guide is based on medical science and operational expertise, ARA directs rental stores to comply with the latest local/city, state/province, and country laws and government regulations, and to conform with guidance provided by government health agencies. If government guidance is more stringent than what is found in the document, ARA says that stores should follow government guidance..
American Rental Association Launches ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ Training Certificate Program for Rental Members
The American Rental Association has launched the latest element of its “Clean. Safe. Essential.” initiative for construction equipment rental companies with the availability of a “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training certificate program. The online training program for ARA members is designed to help keep the rental experience safe during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Available online through RentalU, the “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training certificate program features a variety of learning modules to help member construction and general tool rental stores ensure the cleanliness and safety of all rental operations, employees and customers. Topics covered in the comprehensive training include supplies needed, preparations to make, safety considerations, and a cleanliness checklist.
Upon completion of the “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training program, ARA members will receive a certificate and an implementation kit for their specific location. ARA will continue to refine the training program with modules updated, added or replaced as necessary.
“Our industry is committed to developing solutions over and above what is expected to keep the rental process clean and safe,” said Tony Conant, ARA CEO. “The uniform training found in the ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ program is designed to help ensure the health and safety of customers and employees — and to maintain the highest level of confidence of our customer partners.”
The “Clean. Safe. Essential.” training program provides member stores with consistent training on measures to minimize exposure to the coronavirus for customers, staff, vendors and guests. Training is based on expertise from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), rental operators and equipment manufacturers.
While the training is based on medical science and operational expertise, ARA directs rental stores to comply with the latest local/city, state/province, and country laws and government regulations, and to conform with guidance provided by government health agencies. If government guidance is more stringent than what is found in the training, ARA says that stores should follow government guidance.
“The ‘Clean. Safe. Essential.’ program harmonizes the best practices for delivering a safe rental experience through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” Conant said. “Its main goals are to provide a consistent body of knowledge around health and safety practices inside of our current environment and to arm rental store staff with the tools they need to keep customers and employees safe.”
ARA is creating an expert panel to regularly evaluate the program and update best practices as new information becomes available.
